It’s pretty simple. If we ignore something, walk away, pay it no mind, it has no power in our lives. Conversely, if we pay attention to something, usually it becomes part of our core whether that’s what we intended or not.

We know this is true from the best of our experiences: we pay attention to a child’s special gifts and we nurture those special qualities. We give care to a special garden plant and it thrives from our nurturing attention. If we pay close attention to the needs of a new employee or coworker, our nurturing pays off in a better work environment for everyone.

Source: Liesl Ulrich-Verderber

But that takes some mindfulness, doesn’t it? We have to constantly remind ourselves of the intention inherent in attention.

So what happens when that sword of attention cuts the other way?

You’ve probably experienced that too!

If we pay attention to the political news right now, we are likely to be nurturing our own fears in a BIG way. The same is true of the books and movies we chose. Want more fear? Then let people who use fear to manipulate us find their way onto your Facebook news feed, your constant phone messages, into your car radio, or your TV screen.

I got to thinking about this and it made me much more careful about giving any attention at all to sources for “facts” and “news” that tried to real me in with fear.

I started very intentionally paying attention to what was finding its way into my worldview.

We hardly ever think about the ways the media we consume affects us, or the power we have when it comes to dictating what we all learn from in the news. It turns out, we have more power than we think when it comes to deciding how positive, balanced, and worldly our media is!

And oddly enough, when the opportunity presented itself, this was at the core of what inspired me to start Ever Widening Circles! I wanted to nurture my sense of curiosity and know more about innovations in science, the arts, and possibility in general.

But I could not find a place on the web that had no agenda.

Every project I found that labels itself as “positive” and “insightful” has an agenda. They are right-leaning, left-leaning, “green” or some religious persuasion.

Before Ever Widening Circles (EWC), the pickings were slim if you wanted to learn about the great things going on in the world without being bombarded by advertising and ideology.

So let’s explore two universes. One of the first things I learned when I started content searching for EWC was something Ben Zander would say, “There are two worlds: the world of the downward spiral, or the world of
radiating possibility.”

Here are the downward spiral items that were constantly in the news in November of 2015:

There were three coordinated attacks by ISIS that killed dozens in Paris last November.

November 2015 was the world’s warmest November in recorded weather history, according to figures released by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The IAAF suspended Russian athletes from international competition because of a huge doping embarrassment.

The Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal widened.

Yikes. I remember all that, but do I remember anything positive?

Well, actually I do!

And that’s what I’m going to point you to today. In fact, we are going to start a monthly round-up article where we point our EWC visitors to our top articles from the same month, exactly one year earlier.

Let’s get to it!

November is a unique month in the U.S. because many of us celebrate the things we are grateful for through the holiday of Thanksgiving. For that reason, you’ll see we’ve included a number of articles around those sentiments in our top-10 list that follows.

Radiating possibility always includes gratitude!

Here are the must-see (and must remember) articles from November of 2015 on Ever Widening Circles:

Generosity can be joyously large, or it can be breathtakingly simple and personal. Today we look at Narayanan Krishnan, a man who inspires us to give for no reason other than to lift the spirits of others.

Here at the beginning of a holiday stretch to the year end, food becomes a centerpiece of togetherness and celebrations. Please enjoy our 6 family, holiday recipes from grandmothers, the best Kentucky cooks and well-known master chefs. Yum!

Is it possible to connect with others on a deeper level, just by sharing what we are thankful for? It is! Here's a great way to appreciate the simple things in life with the people you spend the most time with: your co-workers!

Today on EWC, join us in witnessing a dance/art spectacle like nothing you've ever seen: a group named Pilobolus' intriguing performance "Symbiosis." It will bring most of us to our edges of understanding.

I have to say, that single talk is one of the most important (and most fun) talks I’ve ever seen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay open, hopeful and always curious!

~ Dr. Lynda

Feed your curiosity!

At EWC we have a lot to ignite your spark of curiosity! The best way to jump in is to try out our “Surprise Me!” button. It will randomly take you to any one of our great articles and you can explore further from there! You can experience this by clicking the button in the sidebar or on the link above!

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You can join us on our mission to prove that it’s still an amazing world by supporting us on Patreon, where you can also get access to exclusive content. If that isn’t your style, you can help by reading and sharing our content with friends and family. The more eyeballs you can help us reach, the more positivity we can all spread together. Thanks for stopping by today!

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